7th Africa Conference on Sexual Health and Rights
Accra, Ghana, February 8 – 12, 2016
Conference Announcement
The African Federation for Sexual Health and Rights (AFSHR) is pleased to announce the 7th
Africa Conference on Sexual Health and Rights with the theme “Realizing Demographic Dividend
in Africa: the Critical Importance of Adolescents and Youth Sexual and Reproductive Health and
Rights”. The conference will be held in Accra, Ghana from February 8-12, 2016, and hosted by
Curious Minds, Ghana.
The conference is part of a long-term process of building and fostering regional dialogue on
sexual and reproductive health and rights that leads to concrete actions and enhance
stakeholders’ ability to influence policy and programming in favour of a sexually- healthy
continent. AFSHR has collaborated with several Core Conference Partners (CCP) and other key
stakeholders in sexual and reproductive health over the past twelve years to organise this
regional conference. The conference was previously held in Johannesburg, South Africa (2004);
Nairobi, Kenya (2006); Abuja, Nigeria (2008); Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (2010); Windhoek,
Namibia (2012); and Yaoundé, Cameroon (2014).
The conference will start with a two-day pre-conference programme consisting of experts
meetings, constituency-focused meetings and capacity building workshops on sexual and
reproductive health and rights for young people on 8-9 February, 2016.
The main conference will hold from 10-12 February, 2016 through plenary sessions, concurrent
sessions, skills-building workshops and exhibitions among others. The conference will
deliberate on Sexual and Reproductive Health of adolescents and youth sub-types including
early, middle and late adolescents, adolescents and youth living with HIV, in conflict situations,
and living with disabilities and will also focus on vulnerable, excluded and marginalized
populations, sexuality education, youth-friendly services, forced/early marriage, adolescent
motherhood, abortions, gender-based violence as well as maternal morbidity and mortality.
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Conference objectives are:
1. Identify promising/best practices on adolescents and youth sexual and reproductive
health with a focus on effective responses to youth vulnerabilities
2. Facilitate knowledge management and programming to enhance adolescents and youth
agency.
3. Enhance adolescents and youth policies and programmes in regional and global
development agendas.
4. Propose actions to promote adolescents and youth sexual and reproductive health and
rights in the implementation of the ICPD Beyond 2014, the Post-2015 Development
Agenda and Agenda 2063.
The thematic areas/tracks include:

Population and Development
Population Dynamics, Demographic Transition and Demographic Dividend

Policy and Legal Instruments and issues
Analyze existing policies at global, continental, regional, national and community level
that affect sexual and reproductive health of adolescents and youth. Explore and share
promising and best practices in policy and legal frameworks for the promotion,
protection and provision of adolescent and youth sexual and reproductive health.

Sexual and Reproductive Health Information and Services.
Share best practices in the provision of information including comprehensive sexuality
education, life skills education, peer education, and adolescents/youth friendly services
as well as integration of sexual and reproductive health and HIV services. Special
attention will be paid to programmes and interventions targeting excluded populations
including early adolescents and out-of-school adolescent girls.

Social-Cultural, Historic, Economic, Political and Religious issues
Discuss barriers that prevent adolescents and youth from attaining fully their sexual and
reproductive health capacities and agency. Identify existing opportunities and
programmes within social-cultural constructs that can be leveraged to promote the
agency of adolescents and youth.

Research, Knowledge Management and Skills Building
Provide updates on research evidence, programming lessons, and capacity building for
enhancing the sexual and reproductive health of adolescents and youth.
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
Innovations, Creativity and Technology
Explore use of innovation, creative approaches and new technologies in securing the
sexual and reproductive health of adolescents and youth.

Investments and Financing
Explore investment and financing mechanisms for advancing adolescent and youth
sexual and reproductive health.

Participation, Leadership, Equity and Accountability
Explore various modalities of youth participation and leadership in policy development,
programme implementation as well as monitoring and evaluation.
Participants
About 1,000 participants representing various stakeholder and constituency groups are
expected at the conference. These include policy makers, development partners, civil society
organisations, and academia, media, adolescents, youth, and duty bearers.
Call for Abstracts
A detailed call for abstracts will be issued shortly. Only online submissions will be accepted.
For up-to-date information, visit the conference website www.africasexuality.org.
Registration
Registration information can be found on the conference website www.africasexuality.org. The
registration fee is USD 200. Early bird registration closes on December 15, 2015. Registration
after December 20, 2015 will attract additional charges
Scholarships
AFSHR does not offer scholarship to participants. Those who cannot fund their participation
costs are therefore encouraged to seek scholarships and funding from donor institutions.
Accommodation
Conference partner hotels will be announced shortly. Participants are solely responsible for
making their accommodation arrangements and are encouraged to do so directly with the
partner hotels as soon as possible. Other accommodation options are being explored and the
information will be made available soon.
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Visa and Airport Transfer
The conference secretariat will assist delegates with obtaining visa to Ghana. For information
about applying for a visa, visit the Ghana Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration
website www.mfa.gov.gh or contact your local Ghana High Commission. Delegates needing
visa should submit such request to the conference secretariat as soon as they pay their
registration fee. For participants from countries where there is no Ghana consulate, visa on
arrival will be arranged once the conference secretariat is informed ahead of time. More
information will be shared on this in due course. Air connection to Accra is very easy and many
hotels in Accra provide airport transfer service.
ECOWAS participants may also choose to travel by road.
Further Information
For questions about the conference logistics, including participation, sponsorship, and exhibition
contact: Samuel Kissi skissi@cmghana.org ; kwessikissi@gmail.com;
For general conference questions, including abstract submission, please contact: Omolara
Ogunjimi conference.afshr@gmail.com
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